A leopard can change his spots
by Ami Rotter
Summary: Hermione finds Draco Malfoy buried under a pile of books; a boy who cause her so much pain but this isn't the same Malfoy. Can he show her that he has changed and will it lead to romance. More importantly will her friends accept it or just blank her?
1. A leopard can change his spots

Hermione sat in the library still studying for her NEWTs after five hours and exhausted from the revision; even for her it was just a little bit too much. She had barely seen her friends in the past couple of weeks apart from in class. It was all she could do but to pass her exams after she'd missed out on them fighting the war. Ron and Harry kept trying to convince her that they could get any job after fighting off Voldemort, but she wanted to do it fair a square with her exams under her belt.

Ginny didn't need much persuading to join her but it took a good couple of week to get the boys to agree to it. It had been wonderful having Ginny in the same year as her as some sort of buffer between her and Ron's idiocy. Hermione and Ron had a brief relationship after the war but they argued too much and eventually decided it was better to be friends.

Hermione's thoughts were interrupted by someone a giant bang coming from just behind one of the shelves. She hadn't seen anybody else in the library since she'd arrived so she rushed around to see what was happening. Hermione was surprised by the sight that greeted her; which was a certain Draco Malfoy in a heap on the floor covered in several books.

"Are you ok?" Hermione said tentatively; she hadn't even said hello to him since they had rejoined the school.

"Erm yeah, I was trying to get some books off a high shelf and I got distracted because I was about to sneeze. Before I knew it a whole bunch of books and fell on my head." Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

"Well did any of the books you want fall on your head?" She began to pick up the books from the floor and show them to Draco. "How about these; are any of these the ones you want?"

"Erm no, it's those two by your feet." Hermione looked down to see 'Muggles: they are like us too' and 'Muggles can also be magic'. She picked them up and handed over to see Draco's embarrassed face go red.

"I never thought this was your type of book a little too muggle." Hermione had never seen this timid side of Draco it was like a whole new person.

"Well I'm not the same type of person." Draco clutched the books to his chest and walked past Hermione hurt at the insult.

"Look Draco I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that; I'm sure you're a changed man after the war. Forgive me, however, if we're not best friends. You did a lot to harm my friends so it will take a bit more than a couple of muggle books, but I do have an open mind." Hermione wasn't sure why she was giving Draco an open door to change her mind about him.

The distraction of Draco knocking over a pile of books and taking muggle books from the library threw Hermione off her stride so she just decided to pick up her stuff and go back to the common room. For this year only Hogwarts had a special house for people who decided to come back after the war so there were former Slytherin and Gryffindors in the same house.

Professor McGonagall was the new head mistress and she didn't want to have the rivalry that was there before. Even after the majority of the year it hadn't worked for all the students and for obvious reasons Harry and Ron didn't want to talk to some of them.

"My God Hermione you're alive!" Ginny looked up from stroking Harry's hair.

"Yeah I decided to actually leave the library I was you know getting little lonely with all those books." Hermione plonked herself in the middle of her friends. "You'll never guess who I saw in the library getting muggle books; well you'll probably never get it so I'll have to tell you. None other than Draco Malfoy was under a pile of muggle books I think he's taking muggle studies."

"What would Malfoy want with muggle studies shouldn't his skin come up in boils if he does anything like that?" Ron sneered.

"I think he's trying to change you know."

"A leopard can't change his spots; I don't believe Malfoy could be a different person." Harry spoke up.

"You didn't see him in the library I think he has; anyway we'll have to wait and see I reckon I'm right though."

"Hermione for once I think this time you're wrong." Ron smiled at her.

After a few minutes with her long lost friends she had forgotten about the incident in the library and that the NEWTs were only six weeks away. It must have been at least two weeks before when they went to Hogsmead that she had sat and relaxed like this. Sometimes Hermione was too hard on herself and just forgot to relax.

"I think I'm going to head to bed." Hermione yawned as she stood up.

"It's only nine on a Saturday night you know we don't have any classes tomorrow." Ron looked at he confused.

"I need some rest to be honest I've read a little too much today."

"I never thought I would hear you say that." Ginny laughed.

"Sometimes even I can read just that little bit too much I mean I've been in the library all day." Hermione said bye to all of her friends before going up the stairs to bed. It had already been one year since the end of the war, but she still thought of it every night. She had only found her family two months ago after she'd removed their memory of her. It had taken a lot of explanation and a couple of weeks before they believed that she was their daughter. It wasn't the easiest with her being away at school, but she hoped that once she'd done her NEWTs things would progress. For now this is where she needed to be getting the grades so she felt worthy getting the job she wanted.


	2. How about some chemistry

It had been a couple of days since the chance meeting in the library with Draco Malfoy; from then every time he saw her he would smile quickly and move off. Her friends still didn't believe that he had changed and just thought he was just up to something. She thought she'd seen a whole different side to him in the library and at Hogwarts; he was no longer hanging out with his friends from before and had become a bit of a loner. Breakfast had finished and the gang were off to the first class of the day potions. Hermione had a letter in her bag from her parents which she hadn't been brave enough to read; so she was saving it until the end of the day.

"Hermione can I be your partner in class today? I don't think I've got this potion down." Ron walked next to her.

"No Ron, you can be someone else's partner because all you're going to do is sit back and let me do the whole thing. Why don't you and Harry work together? I'm sure the dungeon needs a new lick of paint." Hermione laughed as they entered the classroom.

"Thanks Hermione, but that only happened once and it didn't take long to clean up." Harry chimed in.

They all found their seats and fell quiet as the teacher Mr Fanhorn entered the room. He had joined the school after the war finished, as there weren't many teachers who could or wanted to return. At this stage it was a bit make do with what they had and the classes were much bigger, bringing all the houses together in some classes.

"Right as you are aware from the last class, we are going to have a test where you have to produce the potion I gave you from memory. So to make sure you're not reading any notes I would like you to put all your books and bags over by the wall." Mr Fanhorn waited until all of the students had returned to their seats before he began talking again. "You are going to do this in pairs, but I want to mix it up a bit, I will pick your partner so it's not your friend."

Harry and Ron looked devastated that they were not together and Hermione wasn't surprised that she had ended up with Draco. To be honest it felt slightly inevitable, but she would prefer Draco over Ron as he was less likely to blow something up. Despite her telling Ron and Harry that she thought he'd changed Hermione still did expect him to turn around at any moment and start calling her names.

"Hi Draco, it looks like we're going to be partners then. I hope you've remembered the potion." Hermione said with a smile.

"Let's just get this done shall we?" Draco's expression didn't change and he immediately began to get the potion ingredients ready. The rest of the class was bustling with noise where pairs were discussing and trying to remember all of the ingredients. Draco and Hermione were working in pure silence and for once it was her who was taking the backseat, while he did all the work. Finally Hermione decided to break the, what she felt was, uncomfortable silence and talk to Draco.

"Draco are you ok?" She said softly.

"Yeah I'm fine why?" He didn't turn to look at her, but just carried on placing things in to the cauldron.

"It's just whenever I see you, it's like, you just don't want to connect with anyone anymore."

"Why would I want to connect with people? Nobody likes me here and why would they after what I've done. I wouldn't want to go near me after what I've done over the past few years." Hermione noticed a small tear in the corner of his eye.

"How do you know these things if you don't try to talk to people? I'm talking to you now and you've been completely horrible to me in the past. I've seen a change in you in the past couple of weeks, if you try then maybe other people will see the same." She put her hand on his shoulder causing him to flinch slightly.

"What makes you think I deserve that?" Draco's voice became almost angry.

"Everybody deserves a second chance no matter what they've done."

"Yes well, I'd rather not talk about it so let's just do this potion and then you can get away from me; which I'm sure you want to do right now."

Hermione couldn't believe the side of Draco she was seeing right now. Despite how horrible he had been to her in the past it was heartbreaking seeing him feel so worthless. However, after their little conversation nothing was said between them for the rest of the class. Needless to say, that even though she hadn't done much to help they had got top marks in the test. Her potions incident was long forgotten when she got to the returnee's common room at the end of the day.

The new house was called Dumbledore in memory of the greatest head teacher Hogwarts had ever seen. It had taken several months of hard work, and a lot of magic, to get it done and it looked stunning. The common room had a large fireplace much like the one in the Gryffindor house but bigger. There was a combination of all the other houses colours in an attempt to bring all of the students together.

To Hermione's surprise at the beginning of the year there were quite a few Slytherins back at the school. However, there were many more of the other houses and around 400 students who had missed out on a proper education during the war. Once she had finished her homework for the day Hermione finally found the courage to read the letter from her parents.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I am writing to tell you that Andrew (your father) has been taken in to hospital after a car accident. He has requested that you stay in school as he only wants his close family with him. I hope you are doing ok and the exams aren't too hard. I will send you any more information I receive but until then I wish you luck._

_Regards_

_Elizabeth_

Hermione read the letter at least three times, each time her heart dropped and the tears came falling out. When she removed the memory of her from their minds she was trying to protect them, but she never thought it would be this difficult to reverse it. She couldn't believe that her own father didn't consider her as close family. Hermione couldn't bear being in the dorm any longer so she went to the only place she really felt comfortable in which was the library. She ran so quickly through the corridors she nearly slipped, once Hermione walked through the doors she found a hidden corner and began to cry.

Her heart kept hurting and she couldn't stop crying; there was a pool of tears forming on the floor beside her which gradually started to spread.

"Hermione are you ok?" She looked up to see Draco Malfoy peering around a bookshelf.

"Yeah I'm fine; I was just looking for a book for my revision." Hermione quickly wiped the tears from her face.

"I heard you crying are you sure you're doing ok?"

"It's my business so leave me alone anyway what are you doing in the library?" She became very defensive.

"I'm sorry I only wanted to help you." Draco was very quiet as he walked away.

"Sorry Draco I didn't mean that. Please don't leave me alone." Draco turned on his heels and sat down next to Hermione. "I got a letter from my mum saying my dad had been in a car accident, but he didn't want me to visit in the hospital because I'm not his close family." Hermione struggled to speak through the sobs.

"You are close family though; I don't understand what you mean."

"Before the war I removed my parent's memory of me so they couldn't be tortured by death eaters. I found them again, but I wasn't able to reverse the spell and now I'm trying to get them used to me being their daughter again. I thought I'd got my life back together , but now this letter shows me they still don't think of me as their daughter and it hurts. The worst part of it is my friends know, but they never make sure I am doing ok."

"This is all my fault; you wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for people like me and my father." She felt Draco's body move away.

"It's not your fault it still would have happened without you and you have to believe that. You have to try and get beyond your past and learn to move on with your life. Now please don't leave I need someone to hold me." Draco's arms wrapped around her body and she couldn't believe what she was doing but she lent in to his and relaxed. Hermione spent a good fifteen minutes in silence but not the same awkward silence as in potions this morning. Somebody moving books on the opposite side of the library cause them to break apart and suddenly realise what was going on.

"Right it's probably time for me to go back because I have the books I need." Draco stood up. "I hope you feel better and see you later." Draco left the library and Hermione feeling a bit strange about what had just happened.


	3. A leopard can't change his spots

Hermione followed the sobs she could hear coming from the corner of the library, which was interrupting her studying yet again.

"Seriously Draco are you determined to make me fail my exams." She poked her head around the bookshelf and there was a brief laugh from Draco while he wiped his tears away, but the tears started up again. "What's wrong?" Hermione sat down next to him.

"I have no friends and everyone hates me; I just don't think I can do this anymore. Plus I'm not even doing well with my revision, so I'm probably going to fail, it's not even worth the pain."

"Do you know I never thought I would see you cry; in fact of all the people I thought I would see cry I never thought it would be you."

"Oh thank you so much, you've made me feel so much better." Draco tried to force a smile on to his face, but it didn't work.

"I'm so sorry I didn't mean it like that." She put her hand on his knee. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I think it's beyond that now, and even if you tried, you would probably end up in the same situation as me." He shook his head.

"Don't say that at least let me help you with the studying and help you get god grades. I mean when we were younger I practically did all of Ron and Harry's work." Draco showed a small smile. "With regards to having friends, you can have mine you should come and sit with us at dinner tonight."

"Thank you so much, but I don't think they will take to it."

"I don't care, they will just have to deal with it, please just agree to come along."

"Ok I will, but I don't know how much of a good idea it is."

"You won't regret it I promise you; come sit with me by the fire this evening and I can help you with your work too." Hermione wasn't too sure why she did what she did next, but she kissed Draco on the cheek before grabbing her books and heading back to the common room. She walked back through the corridors in a slight daze had she really just given Draco Malfoy a kiss on the cheek?

Hermione still hadn't got to grips with the completely different Malfoy, which was gracing Hogwarts these days. To be honest she had expected Malfoy to run away with his tail between his legs and trying to get some sort of group back together again. She was stopped in her tracks by Professor McGonagall stepping in to her path.

"Ah Hermione, just the person I was looking for. Would you mind coming with me to my office so I can run something by you?" Without waiting for the answer, the Hogwarts headmaster had turned and began to head towards her office.

"Yeah sure," Hermione followed her in silence. The relationships between teachers and students had been blurred in the war as they all banded together in the fight against Voldemort. Now that things were back to normal and many who had been fighting in the war were back in school; it was weird having to relate to teachers as teachers again.

"You know we are nearing the end of the year and there will be more students than normal leaving the school. Well we really want to emphasise how important it is to work together, so close to the end of the war." Hermione didn't know where this was heading. "I am going to hold an event for all the leavers and I would like you to make a speech at the end, would you mind?"

"No of course not, but why not ask Harry?"

"I would ask Harry, but you are the most eloquent and articulate in the year. I am going to get Harry to make a brief speech, but I would like you to make the bigger one."

"When is this event going to be?"

"In about a month, I will get the teachers to inform all the students about it over the next few days."

Hermione headed towards to common room yet again and this time she made it, without being interrupted by someone. She quickly greeted her friends and went up to her room so she could actually get some studying done. The NEWTs were now less than a week away and as ever Hermione didn't feel like she had revised enough. If she was going to start spending time helping Draco up his grades than she would really need to get her act together.

"Hey Hermione, it's time for dinner." Ginny poked her head through the bedroom door; Hermione hadn't been seen by her friends for a couple of hours. She always lost track of time when she was revising. "When is your first exam?" Ginny asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Four days, I can't believe it I don't think I'm ready." Hermione smiled nervously.

"I think you're plenty ready Hermione, you're the smartest girl in the year you don't have to worry about it."

"Thanks, but I'm still nervous and Minerva asking me to write a speech for the final years hasn't helped."

"What speech?" Ginny stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked confused towards her friend.

"Apparently we are going to have some sort of formal event for everyone leaving and she wants me to make a speech."

"Well I'm not surprised I think you are definitely the best choice for the job."

The girls joined the rest of the gang, who were already most of the way through a plate of food, in the great hall. Food at school was still the best she had ever tasted and it was one thing she would miss a lot.

"Oh look out here comes Malfoy." Ron said through his mouthful of food while looking over Hermione's shoulder. Hermione's stomach began to turn; she was a bit nervous as to how her friends would react to her inviting Draco to sit with them at the table. As he reached the group she moved over the let him sit next her at the table. For a few moments the friends fell completely silent while they all looked at each other for some sort of reaction before Ron decided to pipe up again.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"I invited him to sit with us; I told you he is a changed person and I want you guys to give him a chance." Hermione smiled trying to make this whole situation easier.

"Well you can sod off with that one, because there is no way I am ever sitting and eating with that monster." Ron crossed his arms.

"How can you even let him sit here when he had a part in Dumbledore's death?" Harry looked shocked that Hermione had ever even considered this as a possibility. "Hermione are you really going to sit here like that while this evil arse it sitting here with us?"

"I told you he has changed, these things weren't all his fault his father forced him in to this." Hermione tried to defend Draco.

"A leopard can't change his spots you know he can't just blame it on his father." Ron's face was going red with anger. "He is a human being, well that's debatable, but he does have his own mind and he could have chosen not to do any of this."

With this last remark Draco jumped up from the table not even having the chance to defend himself. He ran from the hall, he couldn't believe he had subjected himself to that embarrassment and believed Hermione could even help him to get friends.

"Thanks you idiots, he has changed and all he needs is a second chance." Hermione chased after Draco and found him behind a staircase crying. He immediately tried to stop and wiped his eyes as she approached.

"You must think I cry all the time these days." Draco let out a short laugh.

"I am so sorry about my idiot friends, you didn't deserve that."

"Yes I did; after what I did to them I deserved everything they said."

"No you didn't and they will eventually come around and see that you have changed. Perhaps you could be a bit chattier around them and help them towards accepting you." Hermione put her hand on his shoulder. "You are not a monster and if you try showing them that then they will come around."

"We'll see I don't know how well it's going to go. I have never been the personable type; my dad never really let me do anything like that. Thank you for all the help though; I really don't deserve what you are trying to do for me."

"Believe me, you deserve to be treated like a human being." Hermione moved closer towards him. "You have been very helpful with my family problems."

"Hermione I am so sorry for how I treated you when we were in school before." Hermione's heart began to beat very hard as Draco pulled her in close. The room around her just vanished as his lips touched hers. She thought her heart would jump right out of her chest but somehow she held it together as he pulled her as close to him as he could. They suddenly broke apart when they heard the rustling of a first year walking past.

"Erm I think I might go back to dinner." Hermione shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"Yeah, maybe we will try sitting together another time." The pair walked back to the great hall separately, but occasionally looking towards each other.


	4. Family Affairs

"You sure it's muggle studies you need the help with?" Hermione was sat in the library surrounded by books and Draco Malfoy.

"Hermione, I think you know me well enough at this stage. I need all the help I can get with Muggle studies; it has been my worst subject since starting school." Draco laughed slightly. "And that includes divination, which I was horrible at."

"How come you chose to do muggle studies in the first place then?" Hermione couldn't understand trying to do something you know you were horrible at.

"I wanted to understand the people I have been fighting against for the past few years. My father always told me that muggles were bad and they don't deserve to be in our society. So I wanted to see if this was right, which to be honest I never thought was right. The other thing is and I've never told anyone this." Draco shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I have applied to work in the Muggle department at the Ministry of Magic."

"Really; that's brilliant, it's really brilliant!" Hermione beamed and patted him on the leg absent mindedly. The pair suddenly went stiff and the tension in the room rose; they hadn't discussed their kiss in the corridor since it had happened a couple of days previously.

"Erm yeah, anyway should we get too the studying? I have muggle studies in two days and I really can't afford to fail it." Draco smiled uncomfortably.

"Right well let's go through some of the easier stuff first and then we can go in to history and stuff like that." Draco nodded; he was now hanging on her every word. "The prime minister of England is David Cameron and he does it with a man called Nick Clegg. Now this all happened because..." Hermione had forgotten how much she actually enjoyed teaching people.

"So what are you doing in Hogsmeade this weekend?" Draco asked as they were packing up the books three hours later.

"Professor McGonagall has let me see my parents; someone is going to take them to the village. I hope it's going to be ok and they don't get too overwhelmed."

"That's great though, it gives them a chance to get to know you a little bit more."

"I know I am looking forward to it." Hermione smiled broadly as they walked out of the library. The two walked quietly through the corridors on the way to the common room.

"Thank you so much for the help today, you didn't have to spend your Friday evening with me like that." Draco finally broke the silence.

"It's ok, I like to help people and you asked so nicely." Draco and Hermione had arrived by the portrait blocking the entrance to their Dumbledore house. "Maybe we should go in separately as your friends haven't really taken to me yet."

"Yeah maybe that is the best idea; I'll see you in the library tomorrow after we go to Hogsmeade." Hermione grabbed Draco by the shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. "We don't need to be so uncomfortable around each other. I like you and I hope you like me."

"I do like you." Draco's face went a shade of red that reminded her of Ron. "Sherbet lemons," said Draco as the two walked in to the common room.

Hermione walked in first and over to her friends while Draco walked up the stairs to his bedroom. Hermione went to the corner where her best friends were sat on chairs talking to each other in lively tones. As soon as she took her seat on the empty space next to Ginny the conversation suddenly stopped and they all looked at her. After a few awkward moments they began talking again, but they continued to ignore her.

"What's going on?" Hermione turned to Ginny.

"They're still angry about you teaching Draco and trying to introduce him in to our gang. After what he did to our family and friends in the war I don't think they are going to forgive him easily. I'm not exactly pleased with what you're doing, but you are my friend so I am trying to give you the benefit of the doubt." Ginny explained the situation in full detail.

"They're acting like I wasn't involved in the war and those things that happened to them happened to me also. I obliviated my parents mind and now I'm trying everyday to get them to remember me and I remember his involvement in Dumbledore's death. After all of that I am willing to give him a chance, because I really believe he has changed and he is worth giving the chance." Hermione's voice got louder as her rant went on. She wasn't shouting at Ginny but raising it enough so that Ron and Harry could hear what she was saying. Their conversation has stopped yet again and they were looking at her with her mouths open at Hermione's rant.

"I know you were there too." Ginny said timidly.

"Well don't you forget it." Hermione looked over Ginny's shoulder at the boys, before storming in to her room and crying herself to sleep.

Instead of letting her friends ignore her Hermione took the initiative and sat with Draco for breakfast before going to see her parents in Hogsmeade. She couldn't believe her friends wouldn't even try to give him a chance after all she had done for them. Once she was in Hogsmeade she didn't have to worry about them. Her stomach was still doing tumble turns as she was about to see her parents face-to-face for the first time since Christmas. She had some photographs she had found in her trunk that she had brought with her to Hogwarts in her first year. Thinking about them she remembered when Ron first saw them and continued to shake them, because they weren't moving.

"Mum, Dad." Hermione beamed as she walked through the door of the three broomsticks. They were sat immediately behind the door to the right. Her father seemed to have recovered from the accident he'd endured a couple of months before.

"Hermione dear how are you?" Her mother came over to give her a hug. It still wasn't the hug Hermione remembered as a child, but she was working on it.

"I'm doing great; just revising for my exams which start on Monday. How are you doing Dad, you know after your accident?" Hermione sat opposite her parents.

"Oh I'm doing ok, things still hurt a little bit. I'm sorry about the letter after the accident; I did it because I didn't want to pull you out of school."

"Right ok." Hermione was still a little hurt by the letter her mother had sent her.

"I realise we haven't been trying as hard to make this relationship work. So we've decided that after you finish school we are going on a family holiday and we're going to try and fix this situation." Her mum said with a triumphant smile on her face.

"Wow, thank you. Where are we going?" Hermione had immediately cheered up.

"South of Spain, it's somewhere we've never been to and I don't think you have been there either." Her dad chimed in again.

"I was looking in my trunk a couple of days ago and I found these photo's from when I was a child. They are before we found out I was a witch so I thought they might help with remembering my childhood first." Hermione pulled the three colour photos from the bottom of her bag. One was her running around in her back garden after a football and another was her sitting on her father's knee after eating an ice cream with most of it on her face. The final one was a family photo, which had been taken by a neighbour at a barbecue. She hoped that these might trigger something in their memories or at least one of them.

"That's brilliant let me have a look see." Her mother popped her glasses on. "Oh yes that's our back garden." She said pointing to the photo of Hermione kicking a football. Hermione could see her parents scanning the photos and she stared at the looking for some flicker of recognition.

"You can take them with you and see if they remind you of something." Hermione said hopefully.

"Was this one taken at the Murphy's barbecue?" Her mother's eyes lit up. "It's like I can smell bacon when I look at this photo. I can remember running around after a child who had stolen one of the packets of sausages; that must have been you." Hermione smiled because she remembered that event and sneaking the sausages without realising they needed to be cooked before they could be eaten.

"Yes it was; oh that's so good you remember something."

"I'm sorry honey I don't have any recollection, but I will work on it." Her father had a slightly sad look on his face.

"Don't worry dad, it will come." Hermione tried to remain positive. Nothing more positive happened after her mother remembered the barbecue, but that was enough for Hermione. The small memory immediately made her relationship with her parents better. It was almost like they knew she wasn't lying now that some memories were coming back. There was a bounce in her step as she walked back to Hogwarts as everything suddenly seemed slightly more positive now.

Draco was wondering around his room looking for the books he needed for revision with Hermione. He couldn't believe that he could have a girl like her especially after what he had done to her and her friends. To be honest he couldn't believe he had the feelings he did for a girl like her; it would be wonderful to say he always had those feelings and he just did what his father told him to do. In his first few years at Hogwarts he found a deep hatred for Harry Potter and his friends, which included Hermione. It wasn't until his sixth year that he realised everything he believed was wrong, but it was far too late to take it back.

Once he picked up all his books he headed down through the common room and towards the portrait hole. On his way he found Ron Weasley's sister Ginny pulling up cushions from the chairs dotted around the room. He decided that this might be the chance to make a good impression on Hermione's friends.

"Erm, Ginny do you need some help." Ginny didn't even respond to the answer she just looked at him for a moment and continued to look. "Sorry." Draco said pitifully as turned to face the portrait hole again.

"Draco I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." He put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm looking for my History of Magic notes, because I'm an idiot and I've managed to lose them." Ginny looked at him timidly feeling sorry about her initial reaction.

"Well, I don't have time to help you look as I'm on my way to revising with Hermione." Ginny's face dropped. "I do have my notes which you can have, I can ask Hermione to help me with transfiguration instead."

"No if you need them I can't take them off you."

"Seriously don't worry about it; I can learn something else tonight."

"Thanks." Ginny didn't quite know what to do she had never seen Malfoy like this.

"Don't worry about it; just make sure you give them back to me before next Friday." Draco handed over his notes and said bye to Ginny.

"Draco," Ginny said before he left the room. "They will come around eventually because they love Hermione. If she believes in you then so do I." Draco smiled as he walked to the library.


	5. The Astronomy Tower

Due to McGonagall's decision, that she would have been head girl last year, Hermione was sharing the duties with another girl from the real seventh year. It was ten o'clock at night and Hermione was patrolling the grounds making sure that no one was out after curfew. To be honest if it had been a year ago Hermione would have loved being head girl, but this year all she wanted to do was get her exams done and start with the rest of her life.

Holding her wand up high for light, Hermione walked around the astronomy tower shuffling her feet along, so that she didn't trip over anything. She suddenly became aware of some footsteps coming up the astronomy tower stairs. She quickly looked around to see who was there and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw a face so close to hers.

"Bloody hell Draco, you scared me half to death!" Hermione could feel her heat beating fast with the fright she had just received.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that." He said laughing.

"What are you doing up here anyway? I could put you in detention you know or dock house points." Hermione smiled.

"McGonagall is letting me take up some prefect duties, so it will look better on my CV for my job at the ministry."

"That's good, have you heard anything back from the ministry?" Draco and Hermione began to make their way down from the tower to continue their patrol.

"No not yet, but they said it probably won't be until I get my results when they tell me. I think they have a few more people to interview too." Draco began to slow his pace. "So what do you actually have to do for this prefecting malarkey?"

"Not much really, it's just a bit of a pain in the arse, you basically just wonder around making sure everybody stays in their common rooms. We have another 30 minutes and then we can go to bed ourselves."

"That sounds good to me." Draco raised his eyebrows.

"Shut up Draco." Hermione shoved him in the arm.

"Hermione I'd like to know where we stand at the moment; are we dating or what?" Draco stopped and turned to face Hermione.

"Do you want to date me?" She slipped her hand in to his.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, after what I have done and said to you, but yes I would love to date you. Would you like to have a date, perhaps in the library, with me?"

"I would love to; we can mix revision with a date tomorrow night."

"Sounds good to me," Draco grabbed Hermione by the other hand and pulled her in close. It seemed like a lifetime to Hermione, while Draco paused just before his lips touch hers. When they were together it felt like the whole room vanished and she lost control of any restraint she usually had.

Ron was wondering down the corridor he couldn't wait until his prefect duty was over and he could go to bed or hang out in the common room. He hated the patrol part of being a prefect and he was glad he didn't have to do it every night. He smiled as her heard noises coming from around the corner; the only good thing about patrol was being able to hand out detentions to misbehaving children.

He couldn't believe what he saw when he turned the corner; Draco Malfoy's hands were all over Hermione. Malfoy's hands were slowly creeping up the back of her jumper as he pushed her against the wall. Ron didn't have the same feelings he used to for Hermione but he hated the sight of that rat with his hands on his friend.

"I think we should finish our patrol and go back to the common room." Hermione pulled away, grabbed his hand and began walking back towards their house. It felt nice holding Draco's hand Hermione thought as they made their way back. Once they arrived at the portrait hole their hands fell by their side and they made separate paths in to the common room.

"Hermione can I talk to you?" Ron suddenly popped out from behind the hole.

"So you're talking to me now, hmm." Hermione walked with Ron to the fire.

"I saw you with that pig in the hallway before. I can't believe you are disrespecting the memory of the people who fought so we can live like this." Ron's face looked angry, but didn't seem to have much emotion in it.

"How dare you," Hermione was livid at his comment. "How dare you talk to me like that; I in no way am trying to disrespect anyone. You must not know me at all if you can even insinuate that I would try to do anything like that."

"You are acting lie he never did anything; like he played no part in the death of Dumbledore or anyone else for that matter like my brother."

"Dumbledore always believed that people deserved a second chance and he tried to make sure Draco had that, before he died. I haven't just brushed past what he did before, but I have taken the moment to get to know the new Draco. He is a changed man and he even wants to go and work in the muggle department to try and make sure wizard's understanding of them is good."

"Well that remains to be seen." Ron still hadn't been convinced.

"That's just because you've never taken the chance." Hermione left the conversation at that, because she didn't want to get involved in another argument with Ron. She went to bed so she was fully prepared for her transfiguration exam in the morning. Ginny was sat reading through her charms book hoping she could find some little trick that might help her in the exam.

"Hey Hermione, how was patrol?" Ginny looked up from her book.

"Your brother is an ass!" Hermione slumped down on to her bed.

"Tell me some news; what has he done now?"

"Oh nothing, he just said I was being disrespectful to people's memory, just because he caught me kissing Draco." Hermione said it nonchalantly like it meant nothing.

"You were kissing Malfoy? So are you to like dating now?" Ginny was now no longer interested in her charms book.

"Oh I am so sorry I never told you, but we didn't want to make a big deal of it before I was actually talking to Ron and Harry. We had a talk this evening and I think we are officially dating, although it's a bit difficult to go on date while we're at school."

"You might not believe me, but I am happy for you. You deserve it; I mean if he makes you happy them I'm not going to argue with it."

"I can't believe I'm saying it, but he does make me happy." Hermione smiled. The following day her exam went well, but she couldn't rest because she wanted to get a start on the speech for the leavers event. She headed to the library for some peace and quiet and began to write what she would to the seventh years and the returners.

She couldn't believe McGonagall had put this on her with all of the work they had to do and catch up on.

"Hey 'Mione can we talk?" Harry sat down on the chair opposite Hermione.

"Are you here to have a go at me too?" Hermione barely glanced at her best friend.

"No I'm not here to argue with you, I want to call it a truce. Ron told me what happened, but I also spoke to Ginny and she told me what she said. It's going to be difficult for me, but I want to try and forgive him and accept him in to our group. I am not promising anything after what he did, but I will do my level best." Harry put his hand on Hermione's and she finally looked him in the eye.

"Thank you Harry; that is all I wanted. I was never asking you just to accept him straight away; I mean I have had a bit of a head start on the whole situation."

"I know, but just make sure that you don't get yourself hurt. You are moving quite quickly with him and I don't want you to get hurt at all."

"Don't worry I've been in much worse situation, but thank you for your consideration." Hermione was happy to now have two of her friends back; all she needed to work on now was Ron. "Now that you're here you can help me with my speech."

"Oh yeah the speech, Minerva asked me about doing a small one." Harry pulled over the piece of parchment where Hermione had started her speech.

"Yes well she's lumped me with the big one and I don't really know what to write."

"I don't know, maybe you should talk about your experience in the war and what it means to be back at Hogwarts. If you feel brave enough you could use you and Malfoy as an example of unity." Harry shrugged as if to say he had no other thoughts on the situation.

"See I knew she should have chosen you to write the speech."

"I don't know if that would have been a good idea." The two friends laughed as they began writing the speech.


	6. A Change of Opinions

Ron was furiously trying to chop these ingredients right; he had been trying for the past twenty minutes and was one of the few left in class. The NEWT students who were taking potions had their exam today and they were required to chop up their ingredients before the exam. This was due to the increased amount of students taking exams this year; so in order to save time students were preparing before the exam.

"Oh bugger." Ron sucked on the finger he had just cut with his knife.

"Are you ok?" Hermione, who was to one side of Ron.

"Fine." Ron grunted, he was still not talking to Hermione. He was still struggling to get the ingredients as they were in the book. Hermione was only still in the class because she wanted to make them perfect, but even she had just left the room.

"Here Ron, don't tell Hermione I'm doing this but you can have some of mine." Draco had been standing on the other side of him the whole time. "You probably won't need all of them anyway."

"I can't do that, what happens if we get caught?" Ron looked shocked that Draco was even talking to him.

"I never thought you were one to be shy of breaking the rules." Draco laughed. "Just pretend like you're doing your work, while you slide your hand over and take some of the ingredients."

Ron really wanted to tell Draco where to go, but he looked down at his pile of badly chopped ingredients in front of him. So he did as Draco and said and took from the pile of perfectly sliced ingredients.

"See that wasn't so hard now was it." Draco smirked as he took the rest of his pile, put it in the box with his name on it and left the room.

"Just my luck, he has to be the nice guy." Ron said to himself as he left the room too. "Now I'm going to be the ass if I don't talk to Hermione."

"What about me?" Hermione appeared just behind him.

"I thought you'd left, what are you doing here?" Ron jumped with fright.

"I just wanted to make sure that my ingredients were ok, so I went back in there. I didn't want to turn up at my exam and find out there was something wrong." Hermione walked alongside Ron, who just rolled his eyes at the last comment. "So does this mean we're talking again?"

"Maybe, Draco does seem like he's changed. I'm not saying we're going to be best friends, but I will give him a chance."

"Thank you Ron." Hermione wrapped her arms around him for a few moments; Ron looked uncomfortable about the closeness of his ex-girlfriend. He didn't have those feelings for her anymore but it did feel a little strange whenever they got a bit too close. Hermione was like that until she'd bumped in to Draco, that day in the library, and now she was completely oblivious.

"Get off me!" A loud yelp came from around the corner. Ron and Hermione ran down the corridor to see what was going on; only to find Draco on the floor being kicked by a couple of fifth years. Hermione tried to rush in but she was pushed away by one of the bigger students.

"Ron, please do something!" Hermione screamed at him. "You need to stop them."

Ron had never been in a physical fight before; that was the benefit of being a wizard you could do everything from a distance. In the wizarding world it was very much mind over matter, although sometimes Ron wasn't sure if he had either.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Get the hell off him or I'm going to have to hex you in to oblivion." Ron waded in to the fight pushing one of them over on to the floor and getting his wand out and pointing at the other two. In the process one of their fists connected with his head and almost knocked him over. "You get lost or you will be in much more trouble than you could imagine and if I see you make a step wrong you will be in detention for the rest of school."

"Draco are you ok?" Hermione ran over to him once the fifth years had gone.

"Yeah, this happens quite a lot." Draco groaned as Ron pulled him to his feet by his hand. "This is the first time it has got that physical, but I do get some sort of abuse on a weekly basis."

"Why don't you say something to McGonagall; I'm sure she can do something about it." Ron threw Draco's arm around his shoulder and began to help him back to the common room.

"I am going to talk to Minerva right now, no student should have to endure any of this." Hermione walked off in the opposite direction.

"Hermione don't, I don't want you to talk to her." Draco shouted after her, but it was too late, she was too far away. "I just want to get through this last month of school and forget any of this ever happened. It's not like I don't deserve it, I would probably want to do the same if I were in there position."

"You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself; you don't deserve to beat up every week. I'm going to take you to see Madame Pomfrey so you can get yourself looked at."

"No it'll be fine, all I need is some rest."

"I don't think so." Ron forced, a still struggling to walk, Draco towards the hospital wing. "I want to say sorry for how I treated you before. Hermione seems to think you have changed and after all she has done for me and Harry I should have believed her earlier. It's just so weird getting my head around the way you are these days; it is literally like a completely different person."

"I like to think I am a completely different person; I don't speak to my father anymore and only to my mother if I have to. I can't believe I let them drill their ridiculous propaganda in to my head and force me to do those things. I am glad to be rid of it and hopefully I can get rid of this baggage I have to carry around with me." Draco slumped on to one of the beds when they arrived at Madame Pomfrey's.

"Oh dear boy, what happened here?" The school's long serving nurse came running over to his side.

"He..." Ron began to speak.

"I fell don't the stairs on the way from the owlery; I missed one of the steps and fell the whole way down." Draco interrupted; giving Ron a sideways glance to stop him from saying anything more. "Look Ron you've done enough; you can go back and relax in the common room. I'll be back soon anyway it's mostly just bumps and bruises." Ron said bye to Draco and made his way back.

Hermione had been sat in Professor McGonagall's office waiting, for around ten minutes, for her to finish a meeting with some of the other teachers. She couldn't bare seeing Draco being beaten by those fifth years and she had to do something about it. She laughed slightly to herself when she realised that a year ago if she'd seen that she would have joined in. The past few months with Draco had been weird and wonderful.

"Sorry I've had you here waiting so long; what did you want to talk to me about Hermione?" Professor McGonagall finally entered her office and sat down.

"I wanted to talk to you about something I saw today; I don't want to name people but it's very important. I saw a group of students beating up another only because he was on the wrong side in the war. He has made a change and that is why he's back at the school. I think something needs to be done so people in that situation don't get persecuted; they should be given a second chance too."

"I assume you are talking about Mr Malfoy."

"Erm... yes but I am sure this is happening to other students too. Something needs to be done to help those who have had their names tarnished by their family members."

"I will say something tonight at dinner, but I cannot stop the students without locking them in their rooms all day and night. We can have an extra prefect patrol, but there is not a lot I can do unless I have the perpetrators names so I can put them in detention.

Ron had finally made it back to the Dumbledore common room and was now slumped on a chair in front of the fire. He was slightly dazed still from the punch to the top of the head and he could feel a small lump forming near his left temple.

"Ron are you ok; you look a little sick." Francine Mair, a former Hufflepuff, sat down on the arm of the chair beside him. Ron had a crush on Francine since he had bumped in to her on prefect duty last November, but he hadn't the courage to talk to her.

"I think I'm ok, but someone punched me in the head and it's beginning to set in."

"Someone punched you in the head?" Francine looked shocked. "Who would want to do that to you?"

"It was an accident; I was trying to stop them from punching someone else." Ron had just mustered up the courage to look Francine in the eyes.

"How brave, and did you get them off him?"

"Yes I pulled out my wand and they ran away." Ron laughed.

"Let me get you a drink and something to put on your head." Francine was back in a moment with a glass of water and a damp cloth. Ron couldn't believe hive his luck when she sat on his lap and held the damp cloth to his head. "I'm sorry if this is a little personal, but I thought you might need someone to hold the cloth up.

"No it's fine; thank you for the help." Ron wasn't sure what had just happened, but he knew he liked it.


	7. Friends at a Dance

Hermione sat at breakfast flipping through the notes for her speech at the end of year event this evening. She was very nervous about it; she had never spoken in front of that many people before. Harry had helped her write the speech along with writing his own small one; Harry didn't seem to be bothered about it, but he had spoken in front of crowds before. She looked down at her plate and realised she hadn't touched a single piece of food yet.

"Hermione, are you feeling ok?" Ron looked across the table towards her.

"Yeah I just don't feel hungry." Hermione pushed the plate away.

"Hermione, you shouldn't be feeling so nervous you are going to be fine I'm sure of it. I've seen you deal with much worse and you can definitely do this. Now you need to eat something or you're going to starve for the rest of the day."

"Thanks Ron." Hermione pulled her plate closer towards her and began to eat her food finally. The exams had finished and the students would leave the school in two week. For now the teachers were preparing them for the outside world and what they had to expect from the real world. Before Hermione had the chance to stand up there was a loud noise as the owls came in with the post. The post had been getting less as students prepared themselves for the summer holidays; a letter fell before Hermione.

She got incredibly excited when she noticed the ministry seal on the back of the envelope and ripped it open. Around Christmas she had applied for a job at the ministry which she had seen advertised in the Daily Prophet. It was to be Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; however, she wasn't sure if she would get the job without her results.

_Dear Miss Granger,_

_After reviewing your application for Deputy Head if the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; we would like to invite you for an interview._

_The interview will take place on June 1__st__ at 10:00am where a secretary will guide you to the interview room. We look forward to meeting you along with reception of your NEWTs grades, which we are sure will be of the highest standard._

_Kind regards,_

_Kenneth Towler (Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement)_

Hermione could barely contain her excitement at the thought of an interview at the Ministry and the possibility of a job. "Yay!" Hermione yelped as she looked at the parchment.

"What is it?" Draco turned to look at her; he had been sitting with them for the past two weeks now that Ron and Harry had given him a chance.

"I have an interview with the Ministry of Magic after we leave school." Hermione beamed.

"How have you already got one? I didn't think you could apply for a job until you got your results." Ginny said scanning over the parchment. "Congratulations anyway; I'm sure you'll get it."

"Thanks; I hope I do get it. I've wanted this job for so long!" Hermione squealed, she really couldn't believe she'd got this interview. "I am going to write and tell my parents!" Hermione ran off to her room leaving her friends in the Great Hall. For the rest of the day she had almost forgotten that she had to make a speech that evening. It was a formal event so everyone had got their parents to send their formal wear. Hermione's parents had allowed her to buy a new dress as all her stuff had gone during the war while her house was empty. Tonight she would wear an emerald green halter-neck dress, which flowed down to her ankles, she had bought in Hogsmeade. She would get ready with Ginny and go to the Great Hall with her. There were not going to be any dates to the event and students were only supposed to go as friends.

"I can't believe we are actually leaving for good," Ginny said as she put her dress on. She was wearing a corseted red and black dress with heels so it didn't drag along the floor. "It feels different this time; I mean we are actually going to be getting jobs."

"I know I didn't appreciate how much I would miss this place the last time, but I really am going to." Hermione looked around her room. "Having to start the rest of my life is genuinely scarier than the war."

"I know what you mean; can I tell you something I haven't told anyone?" Ginny's voice became much quieter. "Harry and I have been talking and when we leave school and finally get our jobs were going to move in with each other." Ginny grinned tentatively.

"Really, oh Ginny that is wonderful it really is!" Hermione was happy her friend was already moving on with her life. "When did you decide this?"

"About a month ago, but we've been talking about it for ages. It will be good for us to have our own place; it has been long enough having to sneak around in my parent's house."

"Why would you have to sneak around your parent's love Harry and I thought they were pleased you two were finally dating." Hermione looked confused.

"They are pleased, but it doesn't mean that it still isn't embarrassing if they find you kissing on the sofa or getting a little too frisky in your bedroom."

"I see what you mean," laughed Hermione. "Now a little bit of make-up and I think I'm ready to go."

"Don't forget the notes for your speech." Ginny made sure they were obviously placed on Hermione's bed.

"How could I forget about that speech, I have been dreading it all day." Hermione laughed nervously as they added the final touches to their outfits before leaving the room. The boys had already left to the great hall, as they had gotten ready much quicker, and they would meet them there. It seemed like any other day with the castle looking the same as usual. When they finally reached the staircase leading to the Great Hall it became obvious something was going on. There were candles lit everywhere and somehow portraits of all the students about to leave graced the walls around the hall.

"Ginny, you look amazing." Harry said as they walked over to the table they were sat at.

"You don't look too bad yourself." She smiled back while giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hermione, you look absolutely stunning." Draco pulled her in close to kiss her on the lips. This left Ron standing on the end feeling slightly like a loose end with the others canoodling to the side of him. Eventually Harry got the subtle hint of Ron's coughing and removed himself from his girlfriend and made it a group gathering again.

"I wonder if they have a band or some sort of entertainment here." Ginny looked around the beautifully decorated room.

"I think Harry and the Potters are supposed to be performing." Ron pipped up.

"Oh why would Minerva get a band who were named after me; it's so embarrassing I can't believe it." Harry put his head in his hands.

"Oh come on Harry it's not that bad and none of their songs are actually about you." Draco ribbed his new found friend. The group sat down at their table where food began to appear on the table in its droves. Once the students were stuffed to the brim Professor McGonagall took to the stage to introduce Hermione and Harry and Ron. She had since decided that a speech from all of them would be good despite her worry about Ron talking in front of so many people.

"This year has been a very special one for all of us; I was proud when we managed to return Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry back to its best. We have managed to bring together students from all walks of life and given many a second chance in life. Now to speak to all of you we have three students who played a big part in the war. First up is our joint head girl Hermione Granger, who put her life in danger so we could live like this today." The whole room enthusiastically clapped as Hermione and her several pieces of parchment walked up to the stage. She stood facing the waiting crowd for a few moments before she gained the courage to start speaking.

"Good evening when Professor McGonagall asked me to make this speech I didn't know what to write. After a while I had to call in the help of a couple of friends to get the whole thing done; I think this helps to describe what the past few years has meant to me. Without the close friends I've had I don't think I would have got through them. Hogwarts has given us the chance to learn this again this year by removing the housing system. We have also been taught to give others a second chance; I personally have learned this.

"Several years ago I met a boy I thoroughly hated and continued to dislike through my school years. When I returned this year I found a changed man who convinced me that anyone can move away from the bad things they have done in the past. These are the two things everyone in this room should take away from this year friendships and second chances..." Hermione continued for another ten minutes and completed to a rapturous round of applause. Harry and Ron were both hits with the students who hung on every word they said.

"Hermione you did really well; everyone thought you were fantastic." Draco kissed Hermione when she sat down.

"Thank you for those wonderful speeches and I now welcome on our band and please enjoy the evening." McGonagall walked off the stage as Harry and the Potters walked on.

"Would you like to dance?" Draco turned to Hermione once more.

"I certainly would," she replied and they walked off to join the group of students who'd been much quicker than them at reaching the dance floor. It wasn't long before Harry and Ginny joined the organised chaos that was now becoming the dance floor, leaving Ron sat on his own by the table.

"Oh bloody wonderful," thought Ron to himself. "I'm always the third wheel and now I get to sit here and watch my friends enjoy themselves." Ron sat in a huff until he saw Francine also sat on her own by a table very near him. He sat for a few moments before he plucked up the courage to go and ask her to dance. As he walked over, however, a much taller 7th year did the same, but she refused the dance. Ron didn't know what to do now, was she refusing all dances and she would also refuse him? Or was she just refusing this bloke, for some other reason he could not fathom, and therefore he still had a chance.

"Francine," he didn't realise it, but his feet had continued walking while he was figuring out his chances. "Unless you are not up to it, I was wondering if you would like to dance with me. It only has to be for one song and we don't even have to dance that close to each other." Ron began to ramble.

"Shut up Ron," Ron's head dropped. "I would love to dance with you; i saw you there by yourself and I've been waiting for you to come and ask me to dance."

"Oh God no pressure then, what would you have done if I hadn't come over." Ron began to shuffle nervously from foot to foot.

"i would have been very upset, but let's not worry about that as you did ask me to dance." Francine took his shaking hand and led him to the dance floor, where his friends were now in full swing.

"I can't believe we're actually leaving Hogwarts for good." Hermione said to Draco who now had his arms wrapped around her for the slow dance that had just begun.

"I know we actually have qualifications and getting proper jobs." Draco placed his head on her shoulder.

"Draco I wanted to ask you something." She moved her head back so now they were facing each other. "When we leave Hogwarts do you want to give us a proper go; I mean like going on actual dates and stuff. It's been great here, but it's not like proper boyfriend and girlfriend where we go on dates."

"I would love to give us a proper go; it might be difficult if we live so far apart. I mean I live in London and you live out in the countryside."

"Well you don't have to worry about that too much; I will move to London if I get the job at the ministry. I really don't fancy having to apparate that far and if I live close enough I might even be able to walk in. Oh, it'll be wonderful to actually give us a real chance you know out in the real world." Hermione leant in and kissed Draco hard on the lips, but not for long as there were teachers in the room.


	8. The Future is Bright

The loud noise meant the owls were arriving, but this was no other owl delivery today. Today was their last day of Hogwarts and the owls were delivering their NEWTs results. The school had decided to give them to the students before they left Hogwarts for goo to give them their best chance of a job. Hermione could barely contain herself while the owls dropped the student's results in front of them one by one. Finally hers fell before her and it had hardly hit the table when she ripped open the envelope.

"Slow down Hermione, they're not going to change if you open them quicker." Ron snorted with laughter. He had been sat talking with Francine, but the sight of Hermione causing a paper storm pulled him away. Since the dance Francine had been showing Ron much more attention and they had made plans to meet again when they left the school.

"Oh my God, I got all Os brilliant; the Ministry have to give me that job!" Hermione squealed; she turned around kissed Draco and ran off to write to her parents. Whenever Hermione got some good news her first reaction was to tell her parents.

"I don't know why she's so excited of course she would get all Os, she's a walking brain." Ron snorted again. "I got four Os and six Es." Ron smiled as he put down his results on the table.

"Bloody hell, I got 7 Os and three Es." Harry had to look at the parchment again to make sure what he had just read was correct.

"I actually got an O in muggle studies." Draco laughed, "Who'd have thought I Draco Malfoy would get an O in muggle studies."

"Well when you hang around with Hermione for long enough things like that begin to happen." Harry had a look at Draco's parchment.

"What did you get Francine?" Ron turned to the girl who had been very quiet during the conversation about results.

"I don't know I haven't opened it yet." She grabbed the envelope from the table and slowly pulled the parchment from within it. "I got nine Os and an E in transfiguration; I knew they noticed that door handle. I had to transfigure a wardrobe and I just could get that last door handle to go, but blimey nine Os." She rambled for a bit, but looked relieved nonetheless.

"So what is everybody doing for their last day of school?" Ginny joined in the conversation.

"Hey Ginny you haven't told us what you got in your NEWTs." Harry realised his girlfriend had barely spoken.

"Well, not to boast or anything but I got all Os." Ginny slid the parchment across the table so Harry could read it. "I have been working really hard; you just didn't notice it in the same way as Hermione. Now come on we have a last day in Hogwarts to attend and you boys still have plenty of packing to do." Draco laughed as Ginny told Harry and Ron off for not packing. "I included you in that too Draco; I have seen your trunk too and it's nothing to be proud of." Draco should have felt scolded by Ginny, but he was actually pleased she was taking a friendly interest in him.

Hermione spent her last day at Hogwarts wondering around and taking in all the memories she could from the place. She walked up to the library and felt the books before heading down to the Gryffindor house where she had spent the first six years. There were so many memories in this place and she could hardly believe that she might never see the inside of the walls again. She went to sleep that night with a smile on her face, which was more than could be said for the first time she left Hogwarts.

The morning they were to get the Hogwarts express for the last time was a wonderful one. The sky was bright blue and there was hardly a cloud up there.

"I can't believe we're actually leaving." Hermione said as she hauled her trunk on to the express.

"What are you going to do when you get back home?" Ginny was following close behind.

"I am going on holiday to Spain with my parents for a couple of weeks and then I have that interview with the Ministry after. What are you doing?"

"Well I have a job interview too." The girls arrived in a carriage and disposed of their trunks.

"You do, why didn't you tell me? What is it for?"

"It's for Hogwarts; I mean they are struggling for teachers and I love this place. I got a bit of the teaching bug when we did Dumbledore's Army. Plus Harry is applying to become the Defence against the Dark Arts teach so we could be together if we're both teachers."

"Ginny that's brilliant and you would make a wonderful teacher." Hermione hugged her friend tightly.

"Is this how it is now are we doing the hugs?" Ron said as he entered the room.

"I was just telling Hermione I am going to be a teacher here, well that is if they give me the job."

"Ginny with all Os I don't think you will have a problem." Francine came through the door behind him and set down on the seat. "You can take your pick of the subject you want."

"I really want to do charms. I can't wait to come back here." Ginny looked out the window as the express began to move and Hogwarts to many became only a memory. The gang joked and laughed with each other until they reached Kings Cross where they would finally have to part their ways. They all said their goodbyes leaving Hermione and Draco waiting for her parents who had arrived late.

"How are you getting home with all this stuff?" Hermione looked down at the rather large trunk sitting next to Draco along with several large bags. "Blaise Zabini is going to come and help me with all this crap."

"You're still friends with Blaise?"

"Yes he was never bad he just did what his father told him and now that he's dead he can do what he wants. He didn't want to come back to Hogwarts because the classes weren't going to teach him what he wanted."

"Really, what did he want to do?" Hermione was curious as she didn't really know much about him.

"He wanted to own his own bookshop so he took his dad's money and opened one up. When we were in Hogwarts he always had his nose in books so it's the perfect job for him. We actually live together in London so you'll have to meet him sometime."

"I have to say he did seem to be the brains of the bunch." Hermione laughed while Draco slapped her lightly on the arm.

"Hey, look sharp your parents are coming." Draco suddenly became very nervous he had never done the meet the parents thing. He had dated Pansy Parkinson, but he already knew her parents before then.

"Mum and Dad, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Draco Malfoy and he's another student at Hogwarts; Draco and I have been dating for a few months." Hermione pushed Draco forwards to make him shake hands with her parents.

"Draco, that's an interesting name." Her dad said in his usual straight forward manner.

"Don't mind my husband, it's very nice to meet you; I'm glad to hear Hermione has got herself someone." Her mum shook her head at her dad before giving Draco a big hug. The luck on Draco's face was priceless as he'd never had a welcome like that.

"Right Draco I'll see you after we come back from Spain and I will make sure to owl while I'm there." Hermione waited until her parent had begun to take her things away before she kissed Draco. "Make sure you owl me too."

"Don't worry about it."

"See you in two weeks." Draco grabbed Hermione as she left the catch up with her parents and kissed her one more time before she left.


	9. Six Months Later

Hermione woke up in her newly bought flat in the centre of London which she had bought upon the news she'd got the job in the ministry. It had been strange finally leaving her parents house where she'd lived since a child. Hermione had now been living in the new flat for a couple of weeks now and she was slowly making her mark on the place. Paintings and ornaments had gone up and she was beginning to decide on the colours she would paint the room.

This morning she was going to meet Draco at his flat, which was only a ten minute walk from hers, and they would make their way for their first day at work. It had taken several interviews for Hermione to get her job and from then it was a case of waiting for the original holder of the position to retire, before she could take up the post. Once she was ready she headed over to Draco's, yawning widely on the way, it was very early in the morning. They were going to meet for breakfast in the cafe under his flat before they walked to the Ministry. She could easily apparate, but she didn't want to become too lazy so she made sure she walked at least three times a week.

"Morning sweetheart," Draco kissed her hard as he opened the door.

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah just need to put my shoes on and then we can leave." Draco ran up the stairs and reappeared quite quickly. "Right lets go." He took Hermione's hand as they walked to the cafe.

"You know you look good in a suit." Hermione look Draco up and down. They were both putting in a lot of effort for their first day; both wanted to make a good first impression.

"You don't look too bad yourself and to celebrate our first day at a real job Molly Weasley has invited us all around for dinner. Harry and Ginny are coming home for the weekend so she wants everyone to be there." Draco had been invited to the Weasley's a few times over them summer, but it had taken them a little while to warm to him. Tension was quite high between himself and Arthur, who'd been targeted by Draco's father. "Have they told you what you're going to do for the day?"

"Arthur sent me an owl yesterday and he said that I am going to follow him around for the week and he will show me what to do. I'm going to have to work hard to make sure I can show him I'm a changed person."

"You are doing great, you shouldn't worry about it Arthur is a reasonable man he will see you for what you are and not what you were." Hermione tried to reassure him; she knew how nervous he was about having to work with Arthur.

"I know he's a good man; he let me in to his house and didn't throw me out. It's just my father was so horrible to him and so demeaning about his job. I want to show him that I am serious about the job and it's not a joke to me."

"Just be yourself honey and he will know you're being serious. You are a hard worker and he gave you the job in the first place, he must have seen something in you."

"I know I need to stop worrying but it is quite scary."

"Aw you're cute when you're scared; you'll be fine, now eat you eggs on toast or we'll be late and we can't do that on our first day." The couple sat talking together and musing about how their first day would go and the Weasley's dinner party. Soon enough it was time to make their way to the ministry with all the other workers, who seemed to be so focused on their job they didn't see the others.

"I'll see you later honey and you can tell me about your day." Hermione kissed Draco before getting lost in the crowds. She couldn't believe she was actually working her; the only other times she had been her for any length of time she was breaking the rules. It felt good to actually be here and not feel like she was being chased down by someone.

"Ah Hermione, glad to see you; it has been a couple of months." It was Kenneth Towler the head of the department. He had been the one who sent her the letter and given her the job after the interview. He had been in George and Fred's year in school, but had moved up the rankings quickly.

"Morning Mr Towler, I'm glad to finally be working here." Hermione shook his hand.

"You don't have to call me Mr Towler, just call me Ken dear. I know you must be a bit nervous; your first day and you've been handed a very important position in the Ministry. There were plenty of other candidates who'd much more experience then you did. I have seen what you've done and I felt I could see a bit of me in you. I needed someone who had fresh eyes and not someone who'd been here before the war."

"I'm glad you did and I promise I won't disappoint you."

"I'm sure you won't my dear; now let's get on with the day's work." Kenneth walked off in to his office, so Hermione decided to follow. "Today we have a case in the Wizengamot where a boy has tried to blow up his parents. I would like you to sit in on it for the morning so you can see how a fair trial works these days. It is something you will have to do on a regular basis is making sure trials are recorded and proper records are kept. Don't worry though everyone takes their turns, including me, but I just want you to watch today."

"Ok, would you like me to take any notes?" Hermione asked before she left the room.

"No that's just fine, I just want you to absorb the atmosphere for the first few days and then we'll get you going on the harder stuff."

"Thanks Ken, when would you like me back in the office?"

"Around 1pm would be great and then I can start running you through the tasks you're going to be doing as Deputy." Hermione headed off to the Wizengamot to watch her first proper trial. It was fascinating to watch them work and it was great to see that they have made the whole process fairer. The whole day whizzed past and it wasn't long before she was meeting Draco outside the front to head over to the Weasley's.

"Do you not think I am a bit over dressed for dinner?" Draco said looking down at his smart black suit.

"You look dashing darling." Hermione put on a fake posh accent, before dragging Draco off to the apparation spot where they would go to the Burrow. The Burrow had taken quite a hit during the war, but Molly and Arthur had worked hard to get it back to its former glory. This was still Hermione's second home and she loved spending time here almost as much as she did with her parents.

"Hermione, Draco how wonderful to see you." Molly came running out when she saw them arrive in the garden. "How was your first day at work? Arthur has been telling me how much of a pleasure it has been to work with you; I think you've done a good job." Molly seemed very upbeat today; this was the biggest greeting she'd ever given Draco.

"It's good to see you too Molly, were not too early are we?" Hermione asked as they walked through the front door.

"Oh you're never too early; everyone else is in the living room and dinner will be ready in 30 minutes. I assure your day at work was a good one too; I'm sorry I never gave you a chance to respond before." Hermione was now on her own with Molly as Draco had gone to the living room to join the rest of the gang. He had truly been accepted by them and their initial apprehensions were all but gone.

"Yes it was wonderful, there is a lot to learn though and I've been thrown in at the deep end."

"You're a smart girl and you will learn quickly; I have faith in you." Molly smiled at her; Hermione helped Molly with the preparing of some of the dinner before going back out to greet her friends. This evening Molly didn't disappoint with a beautiful buffet fit for the royal family; it never ceased to amaze her the dinners Molly put on.

"Mum this is great." Ginny was happy to be home for two days; she didn't realise how difficult staying away from her family would be. They all tucked in and caught up on the information of the last two months, the time since the last Weasley dinner.

"Right now that everyone has caught up and eaten their food I have an announcement for everyone." Ron stood up as Molly squealed, she clearly knew what the announcement was, but the noise didn't deter Ron. "As you know it has been six months since I began dating a wonderful girl named Francine. Over those months I have fallen for her deeply, so last night I asked her to marry me and she said yes!" The look on Ron's face was pure joy

"Well done mate." Harry stood up and patted Ron on the back. "You deserve it."

"I'd like it if we all raised our glasses to Ron and his soon to be wife Francine." Arthur picked up his pumpkin juice and everyone followed. "Francine I am very happy to welcome you in to the family."

"Ron I didn't think you'd have the guts to ask anyone to marry you." George laughed at his brother. Once the table was cleared everybody went to the living room where they relaxed for the evening. Due to the amount of people and the lack of chair some people had to share chairs; Hermione and Draco squeezed together on a chair.

"Draco, do you think we'll get to that stage in our relationship?" Hermione looked up from her position on his shoulder.

"Yes I do, and who says it's that far off." Draco grinned cheekily.

"I love you Draco."

"I love you too." He leant down and kissed her on the nose; he really had made the right changes in his life and this was where he wanted to be.


End file.
